In this light-hearted documentary portrait, Christine Schäfer reveals how
she has come to position herself in the top ranks of today's sopranos
while still maintaining her artistic freedom. With razor-sharp wit and
intelligence, she describes how she keeps herself grounded in a world
that craves celebrities. Among the friends and colleagues who provide
insights into her artistry as well as her refreshing normality are
conductors Christian Thielemann and Sylvain Cambreling, stage director
Christoph Marthaler, music journalist Jürgen Kesting, singer José van Dam
and others.
Christine Schäfer is the anti-diva of the vocal world, a no-nonsense,
down-to-earth singer who transforms her opera roles and lieder recitals
into grippingly realistic scenes of universal human drama. When it comes
to choosing her repertoire and her roles, she unwaveringly follows her
own path and refuses to subject herself to marketing campaigns designed
to stamp her as the new heroine of whatever is currently in demand. With
a repertoire ranging from early music to contemporary works, Schäfer does
not need a specialty, and can even indulge in "light" music with Max
Raabe's Palastorchester and hits of the 1920s.
Excerpts from concert performances and rehearsals of works by Henry
Purcell and George Crumb, from performances of Brahms' Deutsches Requiem
(available from UNITEL CLASSICA), Verdi's La Traviata, and Mozart's Le
nozze di Figaro (part of UNITEL CLASSICA's Mozart22 cycle) impressively
confirm her reputation as "the most versatile and exciting young female
singer of today." (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
